Beginner Nude Hiker?

Just a few simple ideas to make that first hike good:

Firstly, relax and don’t worry too much. Most people you inadvertently meet on the trail are of the tolerant sort and encountering a nude hiker isn’t totally unheard of. You do want to be considerate and prudent so . . .

• Pick the lesser used trails (good resource is the Forest Service listings, link in the Sidebar)
• Do your hiking on a weekday when trails are not as well used (if at all)
• Hike the back Forest Service roads that do not service trailheads (again, check the maps and the Forest Service) . . . old logging roads make great nude hiking areas
• Pick a trail that only has one trailhead versus one that has trailhead at both ends. That way you won’t be surprised by someone hiking in from the other direction
• Cars at the trailhead usually means that someone is on the trail . . . no cars and no trailhead at the other end and you can confidently hike in nude knowing that no one is on the trail ahead of you
• Learn to open your senses and be observant. Tracks? Are they old or fresh? Spider webs across the trail? All are signs of recent activity or the lack of it.
• Hike in the first mile clothed or ready to clothe. After the first mile you see very few hikers as most just give up. Those you might meet are often just like you or very tolerant.

Decide what you are going to do if you do encounter someone on the trail . . .

• If your senses are open to the surroundings you should be able to hear or see someone approaching long before your nudity is apparent. Out of consideration, slip on a pair of shorts.
• Always clothe yourself if there is a chance of encountering children on the trail. Likewise, before going through a campground on a trail, slip on some shorts.
• Simple nudity is no illegal in National Forests in this region (Region Six, the Pacific Northwest). That does not make nudity legal, though. If you are told to clothe up by a ranger, do so. Lewd behavior is illegal and will get you cited should someone complain.
• Simple Nudity is prohibited by rule in the National Parks except where permitted by notice (such as the pool area immediate to Olympic Hot Springs in Olympic national Park.
• All nudity is illegal in Washington State Parks.
• On Department of Natural Resources (DNR) lands, nudity is treated much in the same way as the National Forests.
• On encountering someone on the trail, short up only if you can do so without looking panicky and stupid. Otherwise it’s just best to grin and bare it. You’d be surprised how few people even care. Try putting your shorts on before hiking: Can you do it with a backpack on? Will they even slip over your hiking boots or are you going to end up rolling down the slope with one foot stuck in them. I’ve taken to putting my shorts out of reach on some of the more remote trails. On the few occasions I’ve encountered people, just knowing there is no way to get those shorts out of the pack and get them on, makes it easy to stand my ground and hike nude as if it were the most natural thing in the world . . . which it is. After a few times of that, being nude and staying nude becomes second nature. Encounters rarely bother me.

Take care of your skin:

• Hiking in the mountains brings you that much closer to damaging ultraviolet rays at altitude. And there are some parts of you that have seen very little exposure to sunlight. Use sunblock, especially if you are fair-skinned and subject to sunburning. The pump-spray type of sunblock works best if you are alone and need to protect your back. Remember to re-apply it if you have been sweating a lot or have gone skinny-dipping.
• Moisturize your skin! The environment will dry it out and make your skin vulnerable to cuts and scratches, poison oak (little in the west side of the Cascades), stinging nettles and bugs. If your skin is hydrated and in good condition it will stand up well to these assaults.
• Do not hike at dawn or at dusk. These times are the favorite feeding times for mosquitoes and no-see-ums. DEET is the most effective insect repellent around but it is deleterious on the skin and is probably systemically poisoning us. Use DEET sparingly. Spray you pack instead and attach several repellent wipes to the pack and your hat. All biting insects are attracted to the carbon dioxide we breathe out . . . that’s why they hang out around the tailpipe of a running motor.
• Horse Flies (attack the legs) and Deer Flies (attack the head) are vicious nasty biting pests. Learn their habits and favorite areas so you can avoid them. Do not use fragarent or fruity aftershaves or frangrances as these attract insects, not to mention bears.
• If your skin is adequately moisturized you will stand up to temperature changes better. Hiking produces a huge amount of heat energy which is dissipated easier when nude. But likewise, when you stop moving your body is still radiating that heat away into the environment. Learn your limits on exposure and the warning signs of hypothermia (too cold) or hyperthermia (too hot). Vitamin B6 and acclimization will boast your basal celluar metabolism enabling you to withstand the cold a little longer . . . most people can withstand 50F indefinitely without slipping into hypothermia . . . you are putting out enough heat to balance what is lost. B6 and acclimization can take you down into the low 40s.
• Conversely, hyperthermia is overheating, usually excaberrated by loss of electrolytes from sweating and a thickening of the blood (heat exhaustion). Strangely, it is more a problem for nude hikers because we have more skin exposed to evaporate sweat into the air and thus we can slip into heat distress without much warning (the first warnings you will get are the cramps and general muscle weakness). Bring plenty of water with you and drink it. A sage saying goes that if you are peeing clear, you are hydrated sufficiently. If not, then you are not drinking enough water. Getting into the habit of sipping as you hike. If you are already thirsty, you are dehydrated. Carry salt tablet or a rehydration pack. If you desire salt, trust your body . . . it’s asking for those electrolytes.
• Avoid coffee and colas. I love coffee and I ignore this rule, but coffee is a diuretic . . . it makes your kidneys work overtime in pulling water from your bloodstream. Your going to piss more! Same with alcohol.

Keep a sufficient energy reserve:

• Hiking in the mountains can use 4-6,000 calories a day. Carb load yourself the day before.
• Avoid a large meal before or during a hike. Digestion uses up to 60% of your available energy output to digest that meal . . . energy that is not available for hiking. Stick to small snacks or high carb/high protein. Chocolate is the hikers lifesaver . . . there is a lot of energy in a simple chocolate bar.
• Carry a couple of runner’s glucose gel packs for immediate energy when needed.
• Avoid flatulent foods such as eggs, animal fats, the cabbage family. The produce gas and sometime painful cramps or explosive decompression as you gain elevation.

Accessories:

• Wear a hat. Make it light-colored . . . deer flies like dark colors.
• Wear sunglasses. The sun is very bright up top . . . especially if you come onto a pristine alpine snowfield.
• Carry an emergency poncho in a pouch. The weather turns on a dime in the mountains.
• Wear the best pair of hiking shoes or boots that money can afford. Your feet have to get you in there and back out again. Wear two pairs of socks so that the inner pair slide against the outer pair to minimize blisters. The pairing also acts as a wick to move moisture away from your feet. Carry a spare pair of socks. Clip your toenails. If you don’t and they cramp against the toe on the downslope you aren’t going to want to hike too far.
• Carry a least a few bandaids and a styptic pencil (the type shaver’s use) to take care of minor scratches and cuts before the biting insects are attracted to the fresh blood. Consider at least a small first aid kit in your fanny pack or backpack
• Let someone know where you’re going and the time you’re expected to check back in. If there is a chance of getting lost, carry maps and a compass . . . maybe a GPS unit. Carry your cell phone. It might work, especially on the higher ridges. Carry something that can act as a signaling mirror. Always, always, carry something reliable with which to make a fire that may save your life.
• Have a good hiking staff or pole. Mine is a piece of deadfall I picked up year ago and I love it.
• Bears aren’t much of a problem. They’re shy creatures. But I still carry bear deterrent . . . it’s very effective . . . especially on the two-legged variants.

Even on a long 7-8 miler, everything you should need should fit into a fanny pack versus a backpack. The idea is to maximize your skin exposure and trudging along with a backpack is not my idea of getting sun on my back. I rarely even buckle on the fanny pack, instead, preferring to sling it over a shoulder so that I feel I’m truly hiking free and nude. Let me know if I’m missing anything . . .

Rick

We Had a Successful Clean Up Event at Scenic this Saturday

32 Wonderful souls moved mountains of trash this past Saturday at Scenic Hot Springs. The springs are getting that much closer to being re-opened legally as a nudist-friendly venue. Read the blog posting in the Scenic Hot Springs blog.

Rick

Beginner Nude Hiker?

Just a few simple ideas to make that first hike good:

Firstly, relax and don’t worry too much. Most people you inadvertently meet on the trail are of the tolerant sort and encountering a nude hiker isn’t totally unheard of. You do want to be considerate and prudent so . . .

• Pick the lesser used trails (good resource is the Forest Service listings, link in the Sidebar)
• Do your hiking on a weekday when trails are not as well used (if at all)
• Hike the back Forest Service roads that do not service trailheads (again, check the maps and the Forest Service) . . . old logging roads make great nude hiking areas
• Pick a trail that only has one trailhead versus one that has trailhead at both ends. That way you won’t be surprised by someone hiking in from the other direction
• Cars at the trailhead usually means that someone is on the trail . . . no cars and no trailhead at the other end and you can confidently hike in nude knowing that no one is on the trail ahead of you
• Learn to open your senses and be observant. Tracks? Are they old or fresh? Spider webs across the trail? All are signs of recent activity or the lack of it.
• Hike in the first mile clothed or ready to clothe. After the first mile you see very few hikers as most just give up. Those you might meet are often just like you or very tolerant.

Decide what you are going to do if you do encounter someone on the trail . . .

• If your senses are open to the surroundings you should be able to hear or see someone approaching long before your nudity is apparent. Out of consideration, slip on a pair of shorts.
• Always clothe yourself if there is a chance of encountering children on the trail. Likewise, before going through a campground on a trail, slip on some shorts.
• Simple nudity is no illegal in National Forests in this region (Region Six, the Pacific Northwest). That does not make nudity legal, though. If you are told to clothe up by a ranger, do so. Lewd behavior is illegal and will get you cited should someone complain.
• Simple Nudity is prohibited by rule in the National Parks except where permitted by notice (such as the pool area immediate to Olympic Hot Springs in Olympic national Park.
• All nudity is illegal in Washington State Parks.
• On Department of Natural Resources (DNR) lands, nudity is treated much in the same way as the National Forests.
• On encountering someone on the trail, short up only if you can do so without looking panicky and stupid. Otherwise it’s just best to grin and bare it. You’d be surprised how few people even care. Try putting your shorts on before hiking: Can you do it with a backpack on? Will they even slip over your hiking boots or are you going to end up rolling down the slope with one foot stuck in them. I’ve taken to putting my shorts out of reach on some of the more remote trails. On the few occasions I’ve encountered people, just knowing there is no way to get those shorts out of the pack and get them on, makes it easy to stand my ground and hike nude as if it were the most natural thing in the world . . . which it is. After a few times of that, being nude and staying nude becomes second nature. Encounters rarely bother me.

Take care of your skin:

• Hiking in the mountains brings you that much closer to damaging ultraviolet rays at altitude. And there are some parts of you that have seen very little exposure to sunlight. Use sunblock, especially if you are fair-skinned and subject to sunburning. The pump-spray type of sunblock works best if you are alone and need to protect your back. Remember to re-apply it if you have been sweating a lot or have gone skinny-dipping.
• Moisturize your skin! The environment will dry it out and make your skin vulnerable to cuts and scratches, poison oak (little in the west side of the Cascades), stinging nettles and bugs. If your skin is hydrated and in good condition it will stand up well to these assaults.
• Do not hike at dawn or at dusk. These times are the favorite feeding times for mosquitoes and no-see-ums. DEET is the most effective insect repellent around but it is deleterious on the skin and is probably systemically poisoning us. Use DEET sparingly. Spray you pack instead and attach several repellent wipes to the pack and your hat. All biting insects are attracted to the carbon dioxide we breathe out . . . that’s why they hang out around the tailpipe of a running motor.
• Horse Flies (attack the legs) and Deer Flies (attack the head) are vicious nasty biting pests. Learn their habits and favorite areas so you can avoid them. Do not use fragarent or fruity aftershaves or frangrances as these attract insects, not to mention bears.
• If your skin is adequately moisturized you will stand up to temperature changes better. Hiking produces a huge amount of heat energy which is dissipated easier when nude. But likewise, when you stop moving your body is still radiating that heat away into the environment. Learn your limits on exposure and the warning signs of hypothermia (too cold) or hyperthermia (too hot). Vitamin B6 and acclimization will boast your basal celluar metabolism enabling you to withstand the cold a little longer . . . most people can withstand 50F indefinitely without slipping into hypothermia . . . you are putting out enough heat to balance what is lost. B6 and acclimization can take you down into the low 40s.
• Conversely, hyperthermia is overheating, usually excaberrated by loss of electrolytes from sweating and a thickening of the blood (heat exhaustion). Strangely, it is more a problem for nude hikers because we have more skin exposed to evaporate sweat into the air and thus we can slip into heat distress without much warning (the first warnings you will get are the cramps and general muscle weakness). Bring plenty of water with you and drink it. A sage saying goes that if you are peeing clear, you are hydrated sufficiently. If not, then you are not drinking enough water. Getting into the habit of sipping as you hike. If you are already thirsty, you are dehydrated. Carry salt tablet or a rehydration pack. If you desire salt, trust your body . . . it’s asking for those electrolytes.
• Avoid coffee and colas. I love coffee and I ignore this rule, but coffee is a diuretic . . . it makes your kidneys work overtime in pulling water from your bloodstream. Your going to piss more! Same with alcohol.

Keep a sufficient energy reserve:

• Hiking in the mountains can use 4-6,000 calories a day. Carb load yourself the day before.
• Avoid a large meal before or during a hike. Digestion uses up to 60% of your available energy output to digest that meal . . . energy that is not available for hiking. Stick to small snacks or high carb/high protein. Chocolate is the hikers lifesaver . . . there is a lot of energy in a simple chocolate bar.
• Carry a couple of runner’s glucose gel packs for immediate energy when needed.
• Avoid flatulent foods such as eggs, animal fats, the cabbage family. The produce gas and sometime painful cramps or explosive decompression as you gain elevation.

Accessories:

• Wear a hat. Make it light-colored . . . deer flies like dark colors.
• Wear sunglasses. The sun is very bright up top . . . especially if you come onto a pristine alpine snowfield.
• Carry an emergency poncho in a pouch. The weather turns on a dime in the mountains.
• Wear the best pair of hiking shoes or boots that money can afford. Your feet have to get you in there and back out again. Wear two pairs of socks so that the inner pair slide against the outer pair to minimize blisters. The pairing also acts as a wick to move moisture away from your feet. Carry a spare pair of socks. Clip your toenails. If you don’t and they cramp against the toe on the downslope you aren’t going to want to hike too far.
• Carry a least a few bandaids and a styptic pencil (the type shaver’s use) to take care of minor scratches and cuts before the biting insects are attracted to the fresh blood. Consider at least a small first aid kit in your fanny pack or backpack
• Let someone know where you’re going and the time you’re expected to check back in. If there is a chance of getting lost, carry maps and a compass . . . maybe a GPS unit. Carry your cell phone. It might work, especially on the higher ridges. Carry something that can act as a signaling mirror. Always, always, carry something reliable with which to make a fire that may save your life.
• Have a good hiking staff or pole. Mine is a piece of deadfall I picked up year ago and I love it.
• Bears aren’t much of a problem. They’re shy creatures. But I still carry bear deterrent . . . it’s very effective . . . especially on the two-legged variants.

Even on a long 7-8 miler, everything you should need should fit into a fanny pack versus a backpack. The idea is to maximize your skin exposure and trudging along with a backpack is not my idea of getting sun on my back. I rarely even buckle on the fanny pack, instead, preferring to sling it over a shoulder so that I feel I’m truly hiking free and nude. Let me know if I’m missing anything . . .

Rick

We Had a Successful Clean Up Event at Scenic this Saturday

32 Wonderful souls moved mountains of trash this past Saturday at Scenic Hot Springs. The springs are getting that much closer to being re-opened legally as a nudist-friendly venue. Read the blog posting in the Scenic Hot Springs blog.

Rick

More Scenic Cleanup Pictures

I’d also like to reiterate Rick’s comments! A big thanks goes out to everyone who helped! What a massive effort!

Here are some additional pictures from yesterday…

Ryan

This last pic was taken by a member of a Seattle Hiking Group from across the mountain on the Iron Goat Trail. By coincedence, they captured our little bon fire!

If anyone would like a full res full size version of the pics, you can contact Rick who can get ahold of me directly….

Ryan

Awesome Clean Up Party!!!!

What else can I say? You guys and gals were just absolutely awesome in your infectious enthusiasm and love of Scenic Hot Springs. What took 15 years to build, 2 days for the county deputies to tear down and leave a scar on the mountainside . . . what took months for silent volunteers working under threat of trespass arrest to clean up only to sit as an ugly reminder of disrespect . . . 32 brave and loving souls cleaned up in one day of really hard and dirty work. Thousands of pounds of rotting wood, wire, concrete, PVC pipes and garbage has been removed from the bench and either burned or sorted for eventual and proper disposal. I didn’t think it could be done . . . not in one or even a couple of clean up parties. You proved me wrong. The lessening of stress in Mike is palpital . . . this is a major obstacle out of the way; well on it’s way to resolving the original code enforcement action of 2001.

One of the rustic latrines being burned is kind of a symbol to the clean up of Scenic and a new rebirth arriving.

We met at the gate at 9:30 in the morning on a drizzly Saturday morning . . . Robert (The Naked Gourmet) was already there with coffee and good cheer for our blurry-eyed yawns. Everyone brought tools: hammers, shovels, claws and a good assortment of esoteric items . . . like a gasoline-powered saw that looked absolutely mean. Our agenda was going to be to tackle all that stored construction material on the bench above the springs and to remove the rotting fascia board and 4×4 piers remaining from the demolition debacle of Oct 2001.

A little bit of shameful history is needed here and I repeat it without speaking officially. After the raid and eviction of the soakers in 2001 by the King County Sheriff’s deputies a little-known act of disrespect took place on that hillside when the county destroyed everything they could of the original pools and decking. It wasn’t a carefully-thought out demolition . . . it turned out to be what many have called, an act of spite. It was wanton destruction and the deputies left the mess as it fell on the hillside . . . a blight. Over the following months former spring lovers snuck up onto the property and piece by piece did what they could to clean up the ugly mess left by the county. They placed that material on the bench above the springs as best they could . . . unable to do much more for the springs they cherished. There this material has sat for five years. Saturday we started the effort to finally get rid of what the county started. They destroyed the site . . . we have made a huge dent to clean it up!

The destruction committed in 2001 after the raid on Scenic.

Bear was to lead the group to sort through that material that had been sitting for five years and make the call . . . ‘good’ for saving, ‘garbage’ for the growing rubbish heap . . . or ‘burn it’ for the insatiable bonfire being stoked by the resident pyromaniac, Sushi Bob. There, the majority of volunteers formed a human chain that passed sometimes very heavy sections of wood, wire, pipes, buckets, concrete slabs, and assorted garbage to the sorting area above the springs. It was dirty and hard grunt work . . . and it was a joy to watch everybody enthusiastically pitching in without a grumble.

The sole remaining pool at Scenic is the Monster Tub. It survived the best attempts by hyperactive deputies with chainsaws and sledghammers in 2001 . . . and has survived the test of time on the mountainside implacable and stubborn as the holder of the hot springs waters to this day. It’s thick concrete shell is as much a part of the mountain as is the bedrock to which it is firmly anchored. But weathered wooden posts and sills had to go. Dale had this formidable task. Clean up the pool and salvage as much of the shell as the basis of the new springs.

We had to trench into the mountainside around the tub to finally put a measure of erosion control in place . . . and then we had to tease and brute-force out the concrete-anchored posts and jutting sections of rebar. That’s where the gas-powered saw came in and I firmly believe Dale relished holding that mean-looking instrument in his hands.

Erosion control around the Monster Tub

Yours truly, had the misfortune of standing on the edge of the pool prying on a recalcitrant section of slippery 4×4 when it gave. Clothed and all . . . I got the first soak of the day.

By 4:30 we had cleaned off the bench area and had everything sorted. Two bonfires going good and Robert finally getting around to feeding us all. Suddenly, half of us were in the pool and grabbing that much needed soak.

If the pool wasn’t dirty before from all the dirt we couldn’t avoid falling in . . . it was after a couple of dozen soakers crammed in and let the soothing waters wash away the aches. Scenic is magical.

Much needs yet to be done and I hope our tireless volunteers will join us again as we improve the trails, manage to get an ATV up there to remove the trash . . . and then start the reconstruction of legal soaking pools.

Thank you so much to the volunteers who made this clean up so highly successful. You are indeed awesome and wonderful people!

Rick, echoing the sentiments of Mike (who is very grateful) as well as Bear and Dale.

Ted passed away today

My brother-in-law passed away after a short but acute bout with cancer earlier today.

Ted’s cancer had progressed from a melanoma on the neck to his lymph nodes and then on into a double-lung cancer that did not respond to agressive chemotherapy. Ted had a love of life and his rural home in the foothills of the Cascades. I remember him most for the extended hiking trips we took. He had a fasination with all things in the making of beer that were is traditional Christmas and birthday presents to everyone he knew. Ted leaves behind his wife (my sister) and his teenaged son. We will all miss him; he was very much a part of my life.

Ted passed away today

My brother-in-law passed away after a short but acute bout with cancer earlier today.

Ted’s cancer had progressed from a melanoma on the neck to his lymph nodes and then on into a double-lung cancer that did not respond to agressive chemotherapy. Ted had a love of life and his rural home in the foothills of the Cascades. I remember him most for the extended hiking trips we took. He had a fasination with all things in the making of beer that were is traditional Christmas and birthday presents to everyone he knew. Ted leaves behind his wife (my sister) and his teenaged son. We will all miss him; he was very much a part of my life.

Spring Thaw Conditions at Scenic

An idiot tried to drive off the BPA road and onto the second foot bypass trail sometime soon after the gate was broken open this week.

The Flicker photos set is posted here

I went up to Scenic Hot Springs today and found the gate still wide open. I did not see any of the locks nor the tang the locks were attached to. There was one car parked there and evidence of tire tracks of a narrower width than your truck (and fresh tracks) headed up the road. At the base of the lock post were several large caliber cartridges and pieces of metal that looked like they came from a lock. The assumption is that someone shot the lock off. I hiked on up after closing the gate and securing it with a piece of wood through the tang.

At the beginning of the BPA clearcut there were plenty of deep-tread ‘mud/snow’ tire tracks around. Certainly not your truck which has different tread. There were no vehicles further inside. That this was someone being stupid was shown by an off-road vehicle trying to drive up the narrow trail of the second bypass (tire tracks go up about 15 feet.). It’s difficult to say whether they went any further
on up the BPA road, though there are a lot of tire tracks most of the way up.

Meadows creek is running very strong on both the trail and the BPA road. On the BPA road it is spalling the road surface and creating a second cut. The other creeks seem at the levels expected for spring runoff.

On the trail, there are several areas where the trail edge is sloughing on the downhill side . . . just before the Muddy Creek crossing (old trail and large stump). The log water bars are doing their job. A few leak underneath and I corrected water flows where needed. Rock alley is running pretty strong but should subside when the snow above is finally melted. Above rock alley, the springs near
the switchback are flowing strong. The waterbar below it is handling the flow and creating a new channel downslope.

There are still patches of snow a foot or more deep above the switchback. The flat area is still snow covered on up to the firering above the springs. There is earth slippage and sloughing on the trail right above the Bear Den spring sources. Also, the wooden retaining structure has dissembled and only remains upright (and at a cant) by the guy wires to the trees upslope.

Above the Lobster Spring sources there has been earth slippage by several trees and boulders that really concern me. There is another large granite boulder exposed that is perched precariously like the one Bob broke in half.

The bench area to the east of the pool is clear of snow and you can easily get to the construction stockpiles there. The pool, itself is in terrible shape and in need of scrubbing. Lobster Springs are running three to four times normal volume and cold (55F). These springs have been diverted away from the pool. We need to figure out the proper route to divert these springs when they run cold. Lots of
erosion going on.

Bear Den springs are both running hot (east at 102F, west at 103F) . . . the inlet tube at the pool at just over 100F. The water in the pool is filthy and green . . . warm but not getting enough recharge from Bear Den alone.

Scenic Area Graphic for Volunteers

Remember, unless you are invited or already have the express permission of the owner, Scenic Hot Springs is on Private Property. Permits and negotiations are difficult enough without dealing with troublemakers at the springs.

This graphic should give the volunteers in the upcoming clean-up event enough information to orient themselves and find alternate parking arrangements if necessary.

Rick